The Girl on Squad 8
by Sienna Rain
Summary: The squads are in, and they look promising! However... one girl isn't so sure about one of her teammates. He's not too sure about her either. Humor ensues, as well as some crack-like incidents. ShinoxOC... or is it KibaxOC..? Maybe a little fluff at the end. Sakura isn't in this fic and Hinata is on Squad 7. Rated T for some incidents and cursing. In the process of editing.
1. Meeting the Team!

Chapter 1: Meeting the Team!

It was the day after the exams, and a certain Kunoichi was worried she'd get placed on a team that she didn't particularly like.

_"I hope I did well enough on my exams… I don't want to be on some mediocre team… ESPECIALLY if it has Naruto on it!"_

I glanced over at the blonde haired ninja on my left side. _"I don't… want to be on a team with him. He's too upbeat."_

Iruka was calling out squads.

"Squad 7… Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto's head lifted up, and Iruka kept calling out names.

"Hinata Hyuga."

Naruto's face was unmoving, and Hinata, who sat above the girl's head, sighed.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto's head drooped, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"_I wouldn't want to be on Sasuke's team either. He's a good ninja…"_

"Squad 8: Suki Nakamura."

_"So… it begins."_

I felt a smile light up my bronze skin.

"Shino Aburame."

I glanced at a guy with a green coat two rows in front of me.

_"He's kinda weird, but…he's smart."_

"And… Kiba Inuzuka."

_"Who is that…?"_

I was confused, and I spent the rest of the 'class' period trying to figure out who that was, when Iruka suddenly announced:

"Ok… you'll be meeting your squad leaders in five minutes. I think you'd better get to know your teammates for a bit."

He left the room, and my first thought was to go and sit by Shino.

_"It'd be nice to get to know him. I bet he's nice."_

I knew that many of the girls avoided him because of the bugs inside of his body, but I thought it was kind of cool. I had began to walk toward him when I saw a boy with a gray jacket sitting next to him on his left side. The two of them were talking, and I've gotta admit... I was interested in my new teammates.

_"That must be Kiba… huh."_

Suddenly almost self-conscious, I slowed down to sit on Shino's right side. He glanced at me from behind his glasses and said, "Hello, Suki."

I nodded.

"Shino."

I was ok with Shino; he seemed like a nice guy, and I already enjoyed his quiet company.

The boy on his left looked at me and said, "Hi there, I'm Kiba, and this is my buddy, Akamaru."

A little white dog popped out of his jacket and gave an excited bark, and I was nothing but surprised.

"Hi… I'm Suki."

The dog jumped out of his jacket and licked my face. I let out an involuntary laugh, and Kiba's embarrassed voice could barely be heard between the good licking I received from Akamaru.

"Sorry… sometimes he's a little too friendly."

"No, no. It's ok! I love dogs, and he's _so_ cute!"

The small dog kept licking my face, until a few sensei came by and began walking toward different groups.

A lady with red eyes and feathery black hair was walking toward us, and I took a moment to take in her appearance; she was pretty, and she walked up to us three.

"Ok… why don't we walk down to the training field together?"

All three of us got up and began to walk, and I was left tailing behind the other three since the hallway was too small.

_"I wonder what kinds of abilities these two have… unfortunately… I don't have any, and I wish I did…"_

I primarily used Taijutsu, but I can perform jutsu such as cloning and substitution. Honestly, I'm not really a fan of weapons, and I don't know any jutsu of her own, nor did I possess any talent in Genjutsu. The main reason I don't know any jutsu is because I lack creativity in creating jutsu of my own, so I stuck with Taijutsu.

Once our new team reached the training field, the lady stopped and turned to us.

"Well, as you know, I am your new squad leader. My name is Kurenai Yuuhi and we're going to start off with telling each other about ourselves, and then… demonstrate some of our skills, if you'd like."

Kiba pumped his fist, "Heh… if that's the case… then I call going first!"

Kurenai laughed and said, "Calm yourself… as your sensei… I'll go first. I just told you my name, but my hobby is having an evening drink every night, only one if you're getting any ideas, and… I specialize in Genjutsu."

All three of us newly-named Genin were staring, wide eyed, at our sensei.

_"She's pretty cool,"_ I thought, in awe.

Kiba jumped up, "Can it be my turn now?"

Kurenai rolled her eyes and said, "Sure."

He jumped up, "Well… _I'm_ Kiba Inuzuka and this is Akamaru," he waited a moment for Akamaru to bark some sort of a greeting, and continued, "Uh… my hobbies are taking this little guy for walks, and training with him. I'm good at both Ninjutsu and Taijutsu."

Shino stood up in turn, "My name is Shino Aburame. My hobbies are studying and collecting insects. I mainly rely on Ninjutsu."

All eyes turned to me, and I gulped, "My name is Suki Nakamura, and my hobbies are reading, writing, and training. Uh… I specialize in Taijutsu, but I guess I could work on my Ninjutsu a little more."

Kurenai looked intrigued, "You… write?"

I nodded, "Yeah… books, that is."

Kiba looked at me, his odd, teasing eyes on mine.

"Heh, so does that mean you're a nerd or something?"

I fumed for a second, "No… anything but. The Academy was just easy, that's all!"

"Nerd," He snorted, taunting me.

I rolled my eyes.

_"Wasting my breath on him will lead to nothing but a fight. On the first day, too!"_

Shino spoke up, "Kurenai-sensei, do you know when we'll be starting on missions?"

She nodded, "Yes, tomorrow. That's when we start our first D rank mission."

All of my previous anger toward Kiba melted into nothing as I thought about starting my very first mission of what I knew would be many more the next day.

"What's it going to be about?" I asked, probably sounding eager.

Kurenai smiled at me, "You'll see. But for now… we're just going to show each other our… specialties. To save from injury, I won't show you any of mine. However, if any of you want to-"

"I'll go first then," an eager Kiba said, smiling and holding Akamaru was walking over to an unoccupied patch of grass.

"Ok, Akamaru. Let's show them how we're doing."

The small white dog barked, and I couldn't help but huff:

_"If he's as ignorant as I think he is… I don't expect anything out of this world."_

He began a short string of handsigns and suddenly, Akamaru turned into an exact clone of Kiba.

I snorted as my thoughts took over my mind.

_"Like we need another one of him…"_

Kiba and Akamaru-Kiba stood on top of each other and began rotating in a circular motion, making me almost dizzy trying to keep up with them as they soared around the place.

Once they stopped, Akamaru poofed back into himself.

"Heh, we're still working on it, but I'm sure we'll get it right."

I muttered to myself. "Not bad."

Kurenai smiled, "Seems like you're gonna get that jutsu just the way you want it."

Shino looked interested, and he stood up, "I guess I'm up next."

Bugs began pouring out of his arms, and they began to swarm in front of the group.

"I can't do much, for safety purposes, but all of these bugs, give or take a few more thousand, live inside of me."

I felt a smile light up my face. Most people, like Kiba for example, found that kind of thing disturbing.

As if it was a que, Kiba said: "Guess we'll just have to get used to it. And,"

His normal almost care-free face turned angry as he glared at Shino, "If you give Akamaru fleas, you're dead."

Kurenai put her hands up in front of her, "Let's calm down and refrain from killing each other for now."

All eyes landed on me once again, and I sighed, "Ok."

_"Time to show my stuff!"_

I stood up as Shino's bugs began flying back to him, and I made my way over to a tree.

_"Sorry tree,"_

I reared my arm back and felt my fingernails slice at it.

It was silent for a moment, until the tree toppled over with a loud, booming noise.

I turned to my teammates, and saw nothing but surprise.

"How'd you… do that?"

Kurenai asked her, her red eyes wide.

"Uh… I used a bit of chakra in my fingertips to make them cut the tree. As for Taijutsu, though,"

I kicked high in the air, and I watched as leaves from a nearby tree flew off of it.

"I still have to work on it. My goal is to get the wind that my kick stirs up to make the blows I land on my opponent more powerful."

It was silent for another moment, until Kiba began to laugh uncontrollably.

"What…?"

I asked, my eyebrows creasing.

_"What'd I do?"_

But he stopped soon, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"You really _are_ a nerd."

_"Of course."_

I growled, angry, at myself. Without taking time to reply, I sat back down, crossing my legs.

Kurenai sighed, "Well then… I suppose… as team bonding, we can spend today together. You know… to get a feel for how to work well together."

She motioned for the team to follow, and I stood up, promptly. Kurenai turned back as I asked,

"Kurenai-sensei?"

"Yes?"

"Well, where are we going?"

She took a moment to answer, and said, "Team bonding."

* * *

Meh… first chapters are always the most boring D: Rate/Review! Feeling confident about this story!

8/28/12: I changed it to first-person because it's easier to write and easier to read, as well as I reformatted the whole thing because it was cluttered!


	2. Team Bonding: BBQ!

_Flashback:_

"_Kurenai-sensei?" "Yes?" "Well, where are we going?" She took a moment to answer, and said, "Team bonding."_

Chapter 2: Team Bonding: BBQ!

The new squad eight stood outside of the local barbeque joint.

"You're not serious, Kurenai-sensei?"

Kiba said, looking hungry.

"My treat." She smiled.

I was in a complete and utter stupor. _"Best. Sensei. Ever."_

Shino was silent, and he muttered: "I… don't eat things with a strong aroma to them."

I sighed and started, "For Shino's sake, maybe we should go somewhere-"

But Kiba had already dragged the poor Aburame into the building.

"Else..."

I finished my sentence, feeling like an idiot.

Kurenai-sensei sighed and led me into the building, where we found Kiba and Shino standing on opposite sides of a booth.

The four of us stood, awkwardly, staring at one another, until Kiba sighed.

"Shino made me get out of my seat because _apparently,_" he threw in a glare.

"It's polite to let the girls sit first."

"It is…" Shino muttered, and Kurenai smiled, "Thanks, you two!"

Kurenai-sensei sat down next to Shino, which left me to sit by Kiba.

_"Dammit,"_ I thought before reluctantly sitting by him.

Akamaru jumped onto the table and began to lick my face for the second time that day. I could almost _see_ Kiba roll his eyes and I muttered, "He's so friendly."

Before anything else could be done, a waiter came by and asked all of us what we wanted to eat.

Kiba looked like he could almost sing as he nodded, "I'll have a medium rare steak."

The waiter's eyebrow rose, "Anything to drink with that?"

"Nah," he shook his head.

The waiter turned to Kurenai, "How about you?"

She shrugged, "Actually, I'm not too hungry."

He glanced at Shino, who shook his head as well, and I raised my voice so I could be heard:

"Um… I'll just have a small dish of dumplings with some water, please."

The waiter looked at me with a surprised expression and said, "Your meals will be ready in a moment."

As he walked away, I began to pet Akamaru, basking in the silence that befell all of team eight, but found that all eyes were on me.

"…Dumplings? We're at a _barbeque_… and you order… _dumplings_?"

Kiba was staring at me incredulously, and I snorted in return, "I'm not that hungry, Kiba."

Before any more fighting could ensue, a few familiar faces walked through the door. The one that particularly stood out to me was Choji, who looked so hungry he could die.

"Hey, Kurenai!"

A friendly voice sounded from the entrance, and all of squad eight turned to see a man, accompanied by Choji, Shikamaru, and Ino.

"Hey… Asuma. What are you guys doing here?"

Asuma laughed, "I could ask you the same thing."

I watched as my sensei left the table to chat with Asuma for a second, and squad ten took a seat at the booth near them.

_"What a team…"_

Shino suddenly spoke up: "Don't those two… look like they're… _more_ than old friends?"

I did a double take and nodded, "Heh… somehow, I could see that happening."

The waiter came over, and served both Kiba and I. "Here's your food."

"Thank you," I flashed a smile at the waiter, and he walked away, an obvious smile on his face as well.

I couldn't help but notice that Shino's eyebrows had creased, and Kiba snorted as he started to eat his steak, "Quit trying to flirt with the waiters."

My eyebrow cocked up, "Heh? Flirting? Kiba… I'm not that type of girl. If I like a guy, I'll probably just tell him instead of hopelessly flirting, like Ino over that Uchiha."

As if Ino had heard me, she glared and looked pointedly away.

"Psh." I snorted as I began to eat my dumplings.

Ino and I didn't particularly like each other. We used to be best friends, until Ino started hanging out with some of the cooler, more popular kids in their year at that time, and we grew apart.

We grew even further apart when Ino told me that she liked Sasuke. I didn't see _any_ potential in him other than the fact that he was going to be a great ninja, but I had made the mistake of telling Ino that. Ino has pretty much hated me ever since.

_"What a stupid reason to lose a friend... over a guy who doesn't even care that you exist?"_

Kurenai walked back over to our table, a blush on her face.

"Enjoying talking to Asuma, Kurenai-sensei?"

Kiba asked, a knowing look on his face.

Kurenai's face became red enough to compete with her eyes as she muttered, "It's not like that."

I giggled slightly and kept eating my dumplings until they were gone.

Shino was looking around the place intently as Kurenai said: "Ok… now, for team bonding… we're going to play a game."

"Games are fun…" Kiba said, petting Akamaru absentmindedly as he climbed into his jacket.

Kurenai smirked.

"Well, it's not really a game, but I guess it's close enough. We're going to go in a circle and compliment everyone. Not including me. Ok? I'll start: Shino… your glasses look rather stunning. Kiba, how do you keep Akamaru so clean? And Suki… how do you stay so skinny?"

All three of us Genin blushed at our compliments, and Shino volunteered to go first:

"Kiba… the jutsu that you're working on looks like it'll be something to be feared."

He looked at me as he positioned his glasses.

"Suki… your hair looks nice."

Somehow, I felt a sudden blush strike my face as I mumbled, "Uh… Shino… I think having bugs inside you is really cool."

I watched as Shino ducked into his coat, like he was embarrassed, and I turned to the Inuzuka next to me.

"Kiba, how… how do you…"

I faltered, wondering if I should say it or not.

I continued, staring him in the eye, "How do you keep your skin so clear?"

As if he didn't expect it, which I doubt he did, he took a deep breath and looked away for a moment, but he recovered and began:

"Err… Shino; personally, you're one of the nicest guys I've ever met. And, Suki…"

Honestly, I couldn't _wait_ for whatever nice thing he was going to say to me.

_"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot, and we can start over."_

His eyes traced my face for a moment, then wandered down and rested on my chest for a few moments, and I noticed the faintest blush on his face.

_"What a jerk!"_

Irritated, I punched him in the cheek, making him fly out of his seat and into the wall.

Akamaru climbed out of his jacket and I got out of my seat, walking back to my house.

_"We 'got off to the wrong foot?' Hell, I'll take that foot and shove it up his ass!"_

It made me angry to think that he could have been about to compliment me on something like _that._ Any _other_ girl probably would have blushed or maybe even said thanks, but I wasn't one of those whores.

Speedily walking down the street, I passed by a grassy area and saw that a few people from a higher year than I were training.

I knew one of them well; Rock Lee. Lee had helped me with some of her Taijutsu, hence making me become better at what I did best. Not wanting to interrupt anything, I kept walking.

Once I reached my apartment, I flopped down on a vacant couch after changing out of my clothes and into my most comfortable robe.

My parents had entrusted me with the apartment, and had left Konoha in search of something better. I had had my heart set on becoming a ninja, hence not caring what my parents thought about it. They didn't despise Shinobi, but they didn't want me to become one for safety reasons. However, I'm not usually one to be afraid of danger, and they finally let me. Ever since that day, when I had decided to enter the Academy at six years old, they hadn't taken any interest in me, leaving only a year prior to my graduation.

I could only sigh in mere irritation.

"What the hell was I thinking?" I asked myself. "Did I really think he was about to compliment me?"

**Squad 8's POV**

Kurenai watched as Suki walked out of the door.

"What was that for…?"

Shino whispered in her ear what had just happened, and she sighed heavily.

"Kiba…" The ninja was already standing up and beginning to sit back down.

"Huh?"

"Why'd you do that…?"

He growled, rubbing his jaw. "I didn't mean to."

Before anything else could be said, Asuma looked over at Kurenai, a teasing look on his face.

"Heh… seems like you're having a tough time over there, Kurenai."

She just glared at him, and walked over to where squad ten was sitting.

Shino looked calmly at Kiba. "How'd that happen?"

Kiba just snorted. "Tch. I was thinking and… it just… happened. I didn't think she'd react like _that_ though."

Shino nodded, and looked around. "Where's Akamaru?"

Kiba looked around frantically, but Akamaru was nowhere in sight.

"Damn," he cursed, following Akamaru's scent out of the barbeque place.

Kurenai watched this and just smiled, making Shino confused as she sat back down next to him. "Didn't you notice that Akamaru followed Suki out?"

**Kiba's POV**

At the moment, all I cared about was finding Akamaru.

_"I wonder why he left…"_

I kept following it until I reached an apartment building. My dog was scratching at the door, panting and wagging his tail.

_"The hell?"_

I raced up to him and said, feeling confused.

"Akamaru… why'd you run away?"

Akamaru barked at me, and I replied, bewildered now.

"Why? You don't like that _nerd_ more than me, do you?"

Before Akamaru could answer, Suki opened the door and leaned against the doorframe in a robe.

"What do you need, Kiba?"

**Suki's POV**

"_This is just great. What could HE possibly want?"_

I stared him down until he muttered: "Akamaru followed you here, and I just came to-"

"You _sure_ he followed me?" I had my doubts; Kiba could have easily followed me back to my apartment.

All Kiba did was sigh. "I'm _sure_ he followed you."

I could see honesty in his eyes, and she sighed. "Well, if that's all you wanted, then I'll just-"

"No, c'mon."

He grabbed my hand and began to pull me toward the barbeque place, despite my protests.

"Kiba, come _on!_ I'm not properly dressed to do _anything-"_

But he ignored every single thing I said as he dragged me back into the restaurant.

I stared at him as he finally shh'ed me.

"Suki, shut up. Please."

_"How mean..."_

He seemed to be lost, but he soon finally found the way back to the barbeque place.

Kiba and I burst through the doors, and Kiba literally threw me into the seat beside him as Shino and Kurenai stared at us with their eyebrows up.

"…What?" Kiba breathed, obviously out of breath.

Shino shrugged, "I'm just curious as to why you brought Suki back… in a robe…"

Before Kiba could answer, Kurenai glared at him with a sharp look in her eyes.

Honestly, I didn't get what that look was about, and apparently Kiba didn't either as his eyes slowly drooped closed and his head dipped down, like he was asleep.

"Genjutsu, sensei?" Shino asked.

Kurenai nodded, smirking.

"He'll wake up in a couple minutes."

Shino turned to me, "Did he… apologize to you?"

"Psh, no." I snorted, tightening my robe and looking away. "Why would he apologize to me? He's too annoying..."

Kurenai looked at me, the same smirk present on her face.

"He will."

I had begun to drink my water, which I hadn't finished due to the overload of ice in it, when Kiba suddenly opened his eyes and his head shot up.

Akamaru barked at him, and he stroked him absentmindedly, like something was on his mind.

_"It's not normal when Kiba isn't pissing me off..."_

"Welcome back, idiot." I heard myself say.

He looked at me, with this expression on his face... I can't describe it... it was as if he was upset and wanted to tell me something at the same time.

"Listen; I'm sorry about… about what happened. I didn't mean to. I was thinking about what to say to you, and I didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late."

At first, I was kind of skeptical about his apology.

_"__No wonder Kurenai-sensei put him in a Genjutsu... it was to make him apologize to me! Ugh... it's not genuine. Nothing he says is genuine."_

I just nodded politely, "I'm sure you're sorry and all, but-"

Kiba took my hand, silencing me, and leaned close to my face.

"I didn't get to finish my confession yet. I think… your eyes… are beautiful."

The way he said it made my ears burn, and to get him off of me, I pushed him off of the chair, leaving hastily.

I couldn't think straight.

_"Was he... was he serious? Does he really think that about me? Does ANY guy really think that about me?"_

Smiling, I continued on for a moment, but I turned around.

_"I forgot to thank him..."_

Walking fast, I thought long and hard about how exactly to thank him.

**Squad 8's POV**

Suki was leaving, again, and Shino sighed.

"I don't think… she's coming back this time."

Kurenai nodded and looked at Kiba, "That was sweet of you. I didn't know you liked her like that."

However, much to Kurenai's disdain, Kiba looked at her and then to Shino, his eyebrow cocked up.

"Wait… you guys thought I was _serious_?"

He began to laugh, and Akamaru made his way into the crook of his jacket.

"Man, I really got you guys that time! Is she pretty? Hell no!"

Kiba almost couldn't speak because he was laughing so hard.

"...Really?"

He froze mid-laugh when he turned to see Suki standing next to him, her blue eyes flashing.

"Um... you know... I was... uh... just... um... kidding?" He laughed nervously, but soon went straight through the wall as Suki walked away, triumphantly.

* * *

How mean… almost no humor in my opinion D: One of the first chapters = one of the least funny chapters D: Either that, or the fact that it's 3 A.M… Rate/Review :D

9/5/12: Editing all the chapters for this story so they're easier to read and in first person! Sorry if I haven't posted anything on ANY chapters... :( Rate/Review!


	3. The First Mission: Success or Fail?

_Flashback:_

_"Wait… you guys thought I was serious?"_

_He began to laugh, and Akamaru made his way into the crook of his jacket._

_"Man, I really got you guys that time! Is she pretty? Hell no!"_

_Kiba almost couldn't speak because he was laughing so hard._

_"...Really?"_

_He froze mid-laugh when he turned to see Suki standing next to him, her blue eyes flashing._

_"Um... you know... I was... uh... just... um... kidding?" He laughed nervously, but soon went straight through the wall as Suki walked away, triumphantly._

Chapter 3: The First Mission: Success or Fail?

**Suki's POV**

"Helping… an old lady… with her… groceries…"

Kiba was growling on our way to a very nice lady's house.

Honestly, ever since yesterday, I've been unexplainably angry with Kiba. Of course, who wouldn't be?

_"He faked that he thought I was pretty. How mean is that?"_

However, to be back on topic, I couldn't help but admit that it _was_ a pretty boring first mission.

Shino and I hadn't complained, and Kurenai silenced Kiba:

"This 'old lady' has done a lot for Konoha, and she deserves help with things that she can't do anymore."

This shut the idiot up, which gave me some time to think.

_"I want to do something for Konoha… I want to be one of the most renowned Kunoichi in history!"_

I smiled to myself, feeling my black hair blowing in my face until the three of us reached a small house where an older woman answered the door.

"Ah, you must be the Shinobi I hired."

The lady took a moment to look over our group, and she turned to our sensei.

"Kurenai… your team looks promising."

With that, our sensei walked away from us.

"Have fun on your mission; I figure it's so simple that you three won't need me for this one."

Before any of the group could protest, she left. "I wonder where she went…"

Kiba speculated aloud, Akamaru barking in agreement.

The lady laughed.

"She has… important matters to attend to, I'm sure. Here is the list of things that I need, and here is all of the money that you'll need."

She handed me a short list and Shino the money.

"We'll take care of it," Shino promised, and the lady smiled. "I'm sure you will."

We began to walk toward the store, looking over the list.

"There's not very many things on the list, are there?" I concluded.

Kiba and Shino nodded, and Kiba added; "Maybe we should split up."

Shino creased his eyebrows. "Suki and I will get the simple things, such as the cereal… you and Akamaru can get the meat."

"Tch, fine." Kiba snorted.

I walked behind the two boys as we all walked in silence, until Kiba burst out:

"Hey! Why do _you_ get to be with Suki? Is it because you… _like_ her?"

I could almost _see_ the smirk on Kiba's face, but Shino only replied one way: "It's not like that, Kiba."

However, no matter what he was told, the stubborn idiot just kept arguing.

"Whatcha mean, 'it's not like that?!' You've been all over her the whole day that we've been together."

Willing Kiba to shut up for Shino's sake, I started ahead, muttering back to them.

"I'll go alone. The items I'm gonna get are the… uh… the pills and the... um... tea. You two can get the rest, and I'll catch up to you when I've got some stuff."

I ran ahead to the store, and made a beeline to the pharmacy section.

_"Poor Shino; it sucks to have annoying people on your team, especially when it's Kiba. I wonder if he meant what he said when he said Shino... likes me..."_

Deep in thought, I brushed my hair out of my face as I reached the pharmacy section.

Searching for something labeled 'pain medication', I bumped into someone.

Looking up, I saw a man staring down at me with an annoyed look on his face.

"S-sorry," I stammered, moving away and walking into a different aisle.

Embarrassed, I finally grabbed the right medication and walked away as fast as I could from the man I had bumped into.

"_Dammit…"_ I growled at myself, still feeling the cruel sting of embarrassment, and I began to proceed to finding Kiba and Shino; I didn't have the list, so we might as well go together.

Walking through the store, my only thoughts were: "Where could they be?"

Soon, I almost tripped over Akamaru, who was wagging his tail at me, in my state of deep thought.

"Oh, hi Akamaru! Where are Kiba and Shino?"

The little white dog just barked again at me, and pointed his nose about an aisle down from where we were standing.

I followed his instructions, and found the two of them looking for something.

Kiba was talking:

"…All you've gotta do is tell her. It's not that hard."

Curious, I hid in the next aisle and listened, willing Akamaru to keep quiet.

_"I know eavesdropping is wrong… but it's not like Kiba is gonna tell me anything if I ask him, and even if I did, he'd be annoying about it..."_

Shino sighed, making me admit to myself that it was very unlike him to look the way he did; hopeless.

"I dunno… what if she doesn't feel the same way?"

I heard Kiba's snort, and automatically rolled my eyes; it was annoying to even _listen_ to.

"You two are both nerds, so why shouldn't she?"

I felt my anger flare for a moment, hoping that neither could sense my chakra was nearby.

"I mean, you're kinda weird, no matter how long I've known you for, and her... well... heh... I can't explain it, but she's annoying. I don't know why you like her. Who _would_ like Suki anyway?"

_"That's it. I'm giving him a piece of my mind."_

She stomped over into the aisle, glaring at Kiba, with Akamaru at my feet.

"...I got the medication, and I was just about to drop it off to get the tea."

Both Shino and Kiba exchanged looks, and Kiba looked at me funny. "Good enough. How'd getting the pills go? Easy?"

I suddenly remembered the incident where I had bumped into that random man, and I looked away. "Y-yeah."

Shino creased his eyebrows as he grabbed the already half-full cart they had. _"Man, they work fast..."_

"Let's go, then." Akamaru jumped onto my shoulder and rubbed his face against my cheek.

I scratched underneath his chin, and he barked at me, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

Kiba turned and when he saw the two of us, he snorted and turned back around, without saying anything. I felt accomplished, making him speechless for once.

_"It seems like he can never shut up. Damn."_

Shino was looking at the list, "Hmm… looks like all we need is tea. Are you on that, Suki?"

"Right," I nodded, walking off in the direction of the aisle that was designated for tea/coffee products.

Akamaru had jumped onto my head, and barked when he spotted the tea that was the correct brand. I looked up to see that he had taken it into his mouth, and couldn't help but sigh.

"You're such a nice little puppy… unlike your idiot master."

Akamaru barked again and I set off to find my teammates.

_"I wonder why Kurenai-sensei didn't come on this mission with us… it probably would have been even easier, if that's possible, if she had helped us."_

I kept walking until I spotted Shino next to their half-full shopping cart. He was talking to Kiba nonchalantly.

"Now… all we have to do is wait for Suki to get back here," he was muttering, and Kiba snorted again. "I don't get what you see in her."

Hoping to save Shino from some idiotic explanation, I quickly stepped over to the two of them.

"Ok… so are you ready to go, guys?"

Shino stared at me for a moment, behind his glasses, then turned toward the checkout counter.

"Yeah, let's go." I turned on my heel, but I was soon knocked on my ass by someone else.

I looked up and saw the same man that I had bumped into earlier by mistake, and I hurriedly apologized:

"I-I'm sorry, sir…"

But the man looked beyond angry as he growled.

"That's the _second_ damn time you've run into me today!"

I flinched as he took me by the wrist and lifted me up off of the ground.

"I don't like to deal with brats like you who don't know how to watch where they're going."

_"A fight in the mall... I didn't see this coming."_

Akamaru was barking, furiously, at this man, and I felt my feet come off of the ground at how high he was lifting me.

_"He's gotta be at least seven feet tall..."_

I geared myself to kick him and get him off of me, using my Taijutsu, but a swarm of black stuff engulfed him, making him suddenly freeze.

The let me go, and began to run away in fear.

"What the hell is this?!" The man was itching himself and running around furiously, but the black stuff wouldn't give up.

I fell back onto the ground, winded but ok, and raised my eyebrow.

_"What the hell WAS that stuff?"_

Turning, I saw Shino and a dumbstruck Kiba walking over to me as Shino helped me up.

"My bugs got rid of him. You're ok, right?"

I nodded, almost taken aback at the kindness of his movements, since I couldn't read his eyes, making myself wish only at that moment to see what was underneath his glasses so she could get a look at them.

Akamaru, who had run back to Kiba in the meantime, ran back to me and licked my face as I bent down to nuzzle my nose to his head.

He was whimpering like he was scared or something, and I smiled at him, picking him up as I stood up.

"Aww... it's ok, Akamaru! I'm ok. That guy just had... a few issues. Maybe he was having a bad day."

"Anyone would have a bad day if they had to look at your ugly face, Suki..."

I heard Kiba's voice rip through the nice, dull roar of people that were in the store at the time, and I glared at him.

"What'd you say?"

He crossed his arms across his chest.

"You heard me."

Shino butt in: "C'mon, let's get this stuff paid for so we can get out of here…"

After sitting in line and paying for everything, having some left over change to give back to the lady, I turned to my team of two and Akamaru.

"How are we… gonna get all of this stuff back to her?"

There were a _lot_ of bags for just the three of us, and I was a bit apprehensive.

Shino was putting all of the bags he could carry onto his arms. "We'll just have to use all of our strength."

"Strength?" Kiba exclaimed, making me sigh.

"If that's the case, I've got you _both_ beat!"

Shino could only hold four bags, but Kiba grabbed eight, putting four on each arm.

I shrugged. "If we're turning this into a competition, I've got _you_ beat."

I loaded four bags on both arms as well, and managed to put the last three around my neck.

Akamaru had moved up to my head, and Shino asked: "You two… what are you… rivals now?"

Kiba was glaring at me.

"Might as well be."

I returned the glare, but said nothing as the three of us headed back to the lady's house.

Only an hour had passed since we had started the mission, making me wonder what we were going to do with the rest of our day.

After several failed attempts to ring the doorbell by Kiba, Shino finally doing it right, the lady came to the door and smiled.

"You are such wonderful kids! Thank you… and do you mind putting them on the counter for me?"

The three of us happily obliged and we began to put the things on the counter, and Shino handed her back her change. Once she had seen the Great Value brand cereal, she smiled even wider.

"I've been waiting for this all day!"

She began to make her cereal, and I couldn't help but notice that there was a dead bug in there.

"_Dammit, Shino."_ I cursed under my breath.

I glanced at him and he nodded.

"I know."

"Get it outta there," I hissed, but before he could say another word, Kiba smirked.

"Lady… do you mind if I test your cereal for poison or something harmful?" She turned around, handing him a spoon.

"Bless you… child."

Kiba just smirked and laid into the cereal, taking four bites. Bite number three had the dead bug, and Kiba shook his head as he was done. "Nope, it's clean!"

The lady laughed. "Now I can eat and rest in peace… thank you! Tell Kurenai I said thank you, by the way!"

"We will!"

We walked out of the house, both Shino and I being shaken.

_"I didn't know... Kiba was considerate like that..."_

"Kiba… nice job, taking one for the team."

Shino began, and Kiba looked at him, confused.

"Heh? What are you talking about?"

My eyebrow rose in surprise.

"You mean… you don't know what you did?"

He shook his head. "I just tasted this old lady's cereal."

Suddenly, the lady's voice rang out from inside the house:

"There's a _bug_ in my cereal! Screw you, Great Value!"

Suki watched as Kiba's face turned pale.

"Eh…"

He swiftly turned his head toward Shino, kicking him in the balls.

"Damn you! Why the hell would you let me eat one of your bugs?"

Shino fell to the ground, holding his family jewels, and muttered. "I was going to dispose of it… but you volunteered too quickly…"

I helped Shino up, but Kiba just growled. "That's so disgusting…"

The slightly-split team walked on in silence, with me shouldering Shino until he soon recovered.

Kiba had takenthe lead, Akamaru now at his feet. We headed to the Third Hokage's office to get our reward, which was only ten Ryo for each of them since this mission was easy.

Ready to split up and spend the rest of the day doing whatever we wanted to, our Squad Eight walked out of the office and the three of us turned to each other.

I watched Kiba and Shino lock eyes angrily, and begin to walk away.

_"Training. That's what I need. Training."_

I had been fully prepared to use some of my Taijutsu on that guy who was about to 'show me the business', but Shino had beaten me to it, which meant that I'd have to work on my speed.

However, before I could do anything about it, Kurenai came around the corner and I almost sighed, ready for another "Team Bonding" outing.

"How'd the mission go?" Kurenai looked interested.

I looked back at my silently quarreling teammates and answered for them.

"Fine. Mission complete!"

Kurenai smiled, "Great…"

Kiba butt in, "What was your 'important business', sensei?"

Kurenai looked thrown for a loop as she replied.

"Nothing much, just filling out papers and catching up on work I haven't done yet."

I glanced at my squad, who looked disbelieving, and sighed.

"Well, I've got things to do. Bye, guys…"

But before I could get away, Kurenai stopped me. "Wait… I've got an idea."

Shino creased his eyebrows behind his glasses, and asked: "What might that be, Kurenai-sensei?" She smirked. "Group training!"

* * *

Kurenai just trolled her entire squad… not bad. Heh… my brother gave me the idea for the 'screw you Great Value', because we got Great Value cereal and he didn't like the taste of it xD Not as funny as it coulda been, so I'll be working on it. Next chapter… get ready for some ass kicking! xD Rate/Review!

9/6/12: Not the best chapter I've ever written, that's for sure. Good thing it'll get better, right? xD Rate/Review!


	4. Group Training?

_Flashback:_

_I glanced at my squad, who looked disbelieving, and sighed._

_"Well, I've got things to do. Bye, guys…"_

_But before I could get away, Kurenai stopped me. "Wait… I've got an idea."_

_Shino creased his eyebrows behind his glasses, and asked: "What might that be, Kurenai-sensei?" She smirked. "Group training!"_

Chapter 4: Group… Training?

**Suki's POV**

I couldn't help but think _"Damn,"_ when Kurenai suggested that we all train together.

_"I don't train well with others… the only person who actually can keep up with me, maybe even get ahead of me, is Lee…" _

A collective sigh could be heard from my teammates.

We had all began to walk back to the training field when I noticed that Kiba had caught up to me and was now walking next to me with Akamaru hanging out of his jacket. Shino was behind us, looking almost irritated, but before I could speculate on why, Kiba whispered to me:

"How's it going?"

_"How annoying..."_

I felt my eyebrows crease.

"Fine… why are you whispering?"

"Because Shino is behind us… and if he hears what I'm about to tell you, then… well... I'm dead."

I stared at him, and looked anything but serious.

_"I don't care what he's about to tell me..."_

"Look, I've got training to do, and I can't do it if you're being annoying." Without another word, I caught up to our sensei.

"Kurenai-sensei?"

I asked.

"Hmm?"

Kurenai looked like she was deep in thought.

I continued, "Um… if we're group training… what does that mean?"

She smirked, "You'll see when we get there."

Curious, I sunk into thought.

_"What could that mean…?"_

Soon after, I heard a loud, snapping sound, and Kiba yelping;

"Ouch, dammit Shino that hurts!"

I turned to see Shino catching up to me, and Kiba lagging behind, holding his shoulder and gritting his teeth.

"What'd you do, slap him?" I asked, hearing some sort of worried tone in my voice.

_"Why would I be worried about Kiba? He's annoying as it is."_

Shino looked at me like he was questioning my existence.

"Sometimes… teammates need to learn when to keep their mouths shut…"

I nodded, feeling a smile creep up my face.

"Yeah, I know how _that_ is!"

Without another word, my teammates and I headed to wherever Kurenai-sensei was taking us, and I soon realized she was leading us to a small forest-like scene.

"If you don't mind me asking, Kurenai-sensei, but what the hell are we doing here?"

Kiba's annoying could be heard from behind me.

Kurenai sighed.

"I'd like to ask you all to wait here." With that, she disappeared back from where we came from.

Shino's eyebrows creased. "I wonder what the sensei has planned for us."

Nodding in agreement, I shrugged.

"Maybe it's… a good thing."

"Tch. Yeah, right!" Turning to see Kiba's cocky face staring at me, I felt a grimance plaster to my face.

"If it _was_ a good thing, why would she bring us out in the middle of nowhere? For all we know, she probably just ditched us." He scratched his head, looking to be thinking.

Akamaru jumped onto my head from Kiba's, licking me, and Kiba seemed to growl in what seemed like annoyance.

Shino turned to his left a bit, looking suspicious, but said quietly:

"Hey… there's someone coming."

Kiba stood up straight, walking toward where Shino had indicated.

"Alright, whoever the hell you are, show yourselves."

A familiar face emerged from bush, smiling with a cig in his mouth.

"You guys sure are sharp. Heh… looks like we've got someone to look up to, huh?"

It was none other than Asuma and Team Ten who had been seemingly spying on us.

Kiba snorted.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Ino made her hand into a fist as she stared at my idiot teammate.

"For _your_ information, we're here for some reason that _your_ sensei told us!"

_"Ugh… Ino…" _I thought, almost snorting in contempt, but stopping myself.

As if the blonde girl could hear what I was thinking, I earned a glare from my ex-best-friend.

Shino turned to me and speculated as Team Ten began talking amongst themselves.

"I wonder where the sensei went. I don't particularly feel safe right now… like we're behind enemy lines."

"I feel ya there," Kiba muttered.

"You guys are such wussies," I snorted, but I was no better.

_"Why would Kurenai-sensei bring us here, with Team Ten? It doesn't make sense. If we were going to spar, wouldn't we go to the training field instead, like normal?"_

We stood in silence until our sensei returned, carrying tiny blue and yellow balls in jars, as well as six guns strapped to her back.

"You're not serious... I mean... it was only... I was joking... " Asuma was beginning to speak to our sensei, but Kurenai silenced him with a glare.

"Ok, teams. I guess you can think of this as… I dunno, another team bonding exercise, as well as training."

"What the hell are we doing?!" Kiba asked, impatiently.

Our sensei turned to him, giving him a look.

"We're having a paintball war."

"WHY?!" Ino exclaimed.

"I don't want my clothes to get all dirty and full of paint!"

Kurenai laughed, "That's too bad. Asuma and I made a bet that the team who wins gets a week off of missions... and the losing team gets to do all of the winning team's missions as well as their own."

I perked up. _"Interesting..."_

Shino's eyebrows rose. "..."

Kiba laughed as well.

"Hell yes! We're ready for this, aren't we, Akamaru?!"

The small dog yipped happily, and I couldn't help but smile at the sight, until I caught myself and stared ahead at Team Ten, who looked angry to have to do this.

"Aww, man... and I was planning to sleep all this afternoon..."

Shikamaru looked tired, his hands stuck in his pockets as he yawned.

Choji was munching on chips, like always, but Ino was nearly pulling her hair out.

"I don't want to ruin my outfit! I'll have to go buy a new one... I'm not made of money, you know!"

Asuma was scratching his head as he put out his cigarette.

"Well, well. Looks like Team Ten's got some… competition."

Kurenai smirked, "Oh… you will. It'll be my team vs. yours. Anything goes. You're ok with that?"

I was honestly confused and, maybe, even a little nervous.

_"Why would they pick a paintball war?!" _

I glanced at Shino, whose eyebrows were creased behind his glasses.

"Can we be the blue team, Kurenai-sensei?" Kiba asked, Akamaru barking in agreement.

"You're ok with that, Asuma?" she asked, and the man scratched his head. "I don't see why not."

Kiba jumped up, "Yahoo!"

All of the teams got our guns, and Kiba called a team huddle up.

"Ok, guys. If we're gonna win, we've gotta stay hidden. Don't stay out in the open longer than you have to. More people together mean there's more likely a chance you'll be seen by the others."

Shino shrugged, "Ok, if that's the case."

I, on the other hand, was furious.

"_He's not the team leader! Who the hell does he think he is?!"_

But I only nodded as Kurenai smirked at us.

"At this rate, we'll destroy them!"

She walked away, smiling like a maniac.

"Um… is it just me, or is she going completely sadistic the more that we're all together?"

Shino shrugged, and Kiba snorted. "Tch."

Akamaru barked and suddenly, fluid started to run down Kiba's head.

His eyes became wide in anger as he walked off toward a nearby stream, looking pissed off.

I began laughing uncontrollably, and Shino sighed.

"What an idiot."

Kiba's voice could be heard from nearby.

"I heard you!"

Once the idiot had walked back over to our group, his head soaked clean, Kurenai stated.

"Alright, here are your guns."

She handed out to everyone their guns, and Choji sighed.

"Can we, like, quick scope or something on these things?"

Asuma started to laugh, and I muttered, "Eh…"

Shikamaru tried holding his, but he dropped it, making it fire and hit a nearby tree.

"I knew this was going to be a drag, but I didn't think it'd be _this_ lame."

The lazy ninja face-palmed and Ino hit him over the head, making him turn to her.

"C'mon, lazy ass… we have to beat them!"

I narrowed my eyes when Ino lowered her voice.

"And most importantly… _her._"

Ino glared at me as I glared right back, a silent battle starting to ensue.

Shikamaru glanced at me, but only sighed.

"Why do women have to be so troublesome all of the time...?"

I was, believe it or not, actually kind of upset by the way Ino was acting.

_"Enemies? Rivals? Friends? What the hell are we, huh? The way she's acting, it's like the 4__th__ Great Ninja War over here!"_

Interrupted from my intense thoughts, Shino nudged me.

"Did you get that, Suki?"

"Huh?" Confused, I looked at his reflective glasses, trying to be able to see through them.

However, I could hear Kiba snort.

"Listen for once, will you? Kurenai-sensei said that we're going to start in five minutes."

My anger already almost about to let loose, I didn't answer him back.

Shino turned to Kiba.

"Why don't you try being nice for once?"

Before Kiba could reply, though, Kurenai stood over the three of us, her red eyes more fiery than usual.

"Well, do you three have a battle strategy?"

As Kiba began telling our sensei what he had just told us, I could literally _feel_ Ino's gaze on my back.

I tuned back in as Kiba ended his sentence and began to load paintballs into everyone's guns.

"...I suppose that'll work."

Shino nodded in agreement.

"Will we be able to use our abilities by using Jutsu?"

Kurenai nodded.

"Otherwise it wouldn't be training, would it? Think of it as a… survival test. You're not going to have me around; Asuma and I are aiming for each other, and you will be aiming at the other teams. Is that clear?"

The rest of my team nodded, but I couldn't shake the feeling that Kurenai wanted to be with Asuma for an actual reason.

When about three minutes had passed, Kurenai instructed both teams.

"Alright. The entire forest is your 'battle ground', and there are pretty much no rules, except that if one of your teammates is unable to keep going, the whole team concedes defeat."

Asuma nodded.

"Sounds like you've got all of this planned."

Kurenai met his eyes. "That and a _whole_ lot more."

My thoughts began to wander, making me snicker. Kiba, with Akamaru now on his head, semi-glared at me, though.

Shino nodded to the team and I.

"Let's go. We had better find a good place to plan out what we're gonna do."

I was right behind him, feeling Kiba's presence behind closely behind me.

As soon as Team Ten was gone from sight and the forest encased the four of us, Kiba muttered:

"Huh. Seems like you've got a plan, Shino, and I wanna know what it is."

I couldn't help but notice that the Aburame was creasing his eyebrows in thought as he lifted his arm, revealing bugs that were flying at a rapid pace in front of us. As he muttered darkly:

"We'll find them before _they_ even know what they're doing; these are tracking bugs. I'll know their every move."

Kiba smirked and jumped in place for a second.

"Yeah… yeah, I like that plan! Man, I hope we win. I sure don't want to be stuck doing missions all week..."

Shino's bugs flew off into the distance, and Shino leaned against a tree, looking almost relaxed.

"If we stay here, they'll find us for sure. Let's keep moving."

I smiled, feeling confident as I held my paintball gun in my hand.

"Do you guys think… that we're gonna win?"

Kiba turned to me as I asked the question, smirking.

"I _know_ we're gonna win! We had _better_ win!"

Shino sighed, facing forward. "With me on your team, I don't think there's a chance we'll lose."

Squad Eight and I kept walking deeper into the forest-like area, until Shino suddenly stopped.

"What's up?" Kiba asked, tensing up.

I tensed as well, wondering why Shino would stop so awkwardly.

_"I hope they're nowhere close."_

Glancing down, I watched Akamaru growl at a bush.

Kiba stepped forward to check it out, but it was only a squirrel that bolted up a nearby tree.

Shino said, after thinking for a moment:

"Team Ten is… approaching, but not at a very fast speed. I would say they're not too far behind us. I think we should go left." I felt my hand squeeze my paintball gun.

"_All I wanted was… some training. I didn't ask for a paintball war!"_

We took a left, but I could hear Kiba muttering something under his breath about how he was ready to kick some ass, which made me roll my eyes.

"They're splitting up, it looks like. That makes things a tad more difficult, because it seems as though they've already discussed their plans." Shino sighed.

"Then… we should split up, too!" I suggested.

Though, I thought Shino looked a bit reluctant to agree, but he nodded.

"Fine. Pairs of two."

Surprisingly, Akamaru barked up at Shino and he nodded.

"Fine."

Kiba glared at me. "Heh, looks like I'm with you."

I rolled my eyes; could there possibly be anything _worse _than being with Kiba, alone, without the company of someone else like Shino?

The spectacle-wearing ninja adjusted his glasses. "Ok. You two, go left. I'll handle… Choji. Looks like Ino and Shikamaru are heading that way."

I nodded to him. "Will do." Kiba, quickly, grabbed my arm, making me gasp.

"Let's go!"

He dragged her a few paces left, until Shino was out of earshot.

When I finally pulled away, Kiba was staring intently into the bushes as he stopped, holding his breath. He pointed his gun into them, making me ask: "What are you doing?!"

_"I wonder... did he see something?!"_

I was a little paranoid, but it disappeared when I heard his response:

"Nothing."

_"He's so stupid..."_

I couldn't help but think that as I turned the tables and dragged him a few paces left.

"So, heh, what do you think of Shino?" He asked me, out of the blue.

"...Um, why would you ask?"

Kiba smirked at me, making me resist punching him.

"I dunno, maybe it's because we all know he likes you, even if he refuses to admit it in sentence form."

I glared at this idiot.

_"How mean... things like that are supposed to be kept secret..."_

Before I could kick his ass, he got out of my grasp and tackled me to the ground.

"What the hell-" I tried to ask, but Kiba glared down at me and peered through the thick underbrush we had landed in.

Shikamaru was walking with Ino, who was ranting like normal.

"I don't see why we have to do this! It's so stupid!"

Ino was waving her hands around furiously.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I dunno. It gives me something to do without having to call everything a drag."

I could barely hear them over my heartbeat getting more and more out of control as Kiba pressed closer to me.

"_Kiba is literally on top of me… I dunno… what to do…"_

Astounded that I could feel so worked up over him just being close to me, I tried to sit up but he placed his hand over my mouth.

I tried to speak, but he silenced me with a glare. Ino and Shikamaru were nearing the bush that we were sitting in, and just before we could be seen, a white animal jumped in front of us.

"…Akamaru?" Kiba whispered.

_"How is that possible? Shino went to go and attack Choji!"_ I thought, staring at Akamaru, who was barking up at Ino and Shikamaru.

"It's Akamaru." Shikamaru was stating the obvious.

"Looks like we're gonna have to be on our toes."

Akamaru kept barking up at Ino until she screeched.

"You stupid dog!"

I flinched as the blonde girl kicked him, making him whimper.

The entire forest must have went silent as I opened my mouth to speak to Kiba, but found that he was already halfway across the distance between the others.

"Ok, bitch; it's on! _NO ONE_ kicks Akamaru!" I hated to admit it, but I was on his side on this one.

_"Who in their right mind would kick a puppy?"_

Before Kiba could get any closer, though, I picked up his gun and shot Ino in the stomach four times.

"Ah!" She screamed, running off in a different direction. I continued to shoot Shikamaru, hitting him in the leg twice, making him exclaim:

"What a drag!" and he was gone as well.

Kiba turned to face me, his eyes burning with anger.

"What the- Suki! Damn it! Why would you let them get away?! You _saw_ what that bitch did!"

I stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

"Yeah, I know, but assaulting them would only-"

"It doesn't matter! Anything goes, right?"

His growl stopped me in my tracks. He was right; it _was_ a free for all, but I wasn't about to let him just let loose and go wild.

"Let's just… calm ourselves. We'll regroup with Shino…"

"You called?"

Shino's breath tickled my neck, making my hair stand on end.

"Hi... Shino."

He nodded to me, but stopped when he glanced at Kiba, who was growling.

"What's up with you?"

Kiba glared at him and asked his question. "Why weren't you taking care of Choji?"

Shino shrugged.

"I did, actually. He got away from me, and I'm not usually one for chasing. So I got my little friends to do it for me, and Akamaru and I decided to follow you two. Naturally, Akamaru decided to charge into the situation without thinking, much like his master just did, and… well… you know the rest."

I walked over to Akamaru, who had a pretty sad face on, and picked him up. The puppy barked at me and licked my face, making me smile.

I looked at my teammates.

"Looks like we're gonna have to go with a different plan. I think we'll stick together this time."

Kiba nodded, eyeing Akamaru in my arms, and Shino glanced around until a faint yelling could be heard.

"…Shino." Kiba concluded, sighing, and Shino adjusted his glasses.

"It looks like the trap worked. With the amount of insects I used and my fool-proof plan... I think we won… only using six paintballs… not bad."

I was petting Akamaru when we heard a booming voice:

"Ok, guys… you can come on out of the forest now because I'm quite sure that we know who the winner is."

I smiled, jumping up for a moment.

"I think we won!"

Kiba glanced at me, then to Akamaru. After a moment, he huffed.

"Yeah. We better have."

Shino stood silently, holding his gun in one hand and his other hand in his pocket, as Kiba walked over and picked up both guns, carrying them.

We walked back silently until I turned to Kiba.

"Thanks for carrying my gun."

He only shrugged.

"You're carrying my dog, so I guess we're even."

Shino stopped when he saw Kurenai and Asuma standing close to each other, apparently waiting for everyone.

"None of us have a single paintball on us. Hmm."

Asuma scratched his head. "Well, I'll be..."

"Looks like you won this for us, guys!"

Kurenai, honestly, looked quite excited.

Kiba only snorted in response.

"Just as I thought."

I glanced up at him, feeling a smirk coming on.

"You actually _think_, Kiba?"

He side-glared at me with anger that I've never seen before.

"I have _two_ guns in my hands, Suki. Not just one. Remember that."

"Put 'em both to your head and see what happens."

Kiba's eyes widened substantially and he looked like he was about to reply back to me, when Kurenai approached us.

_"Close call,"_ I thought, sighing.

"I'm so glad you guys won! It was part of my bet to Asuma. Losing team has to do all of the D rank missions for the winning team as well as their own for a week!"

"...Bet?"

Shino looked just as confused as I felt, and Kurenai went on to explain.

"Asuma and I got into it... so we placed a bet to see whose team would win this challenge. Since we won, I just proved that you guys are fiercer competitors than his team!"

Asuma scratched his head again, looking embarrassed.

"I have to say… with Shikamaru's smarts, I thought we'd have an upper hand… your team actually isn't half bad, Kurenai."

He earned a smirk from our sensei, and she turned to smile at us.

"You guys did great! I knew you guys could stick together to finish the mission!"

I held Akamaru closer to my chest.

"Um… actually… Shino did all of the work…"

Kiba seemed to roll his eyes.

"I _would_ have helped, but…"

I could literally _feel_ his angry gaze, so I held the puppy even closer to my chest.

_"Geez... I didn't think it'd be so easy to make him angry..."_

"All I did was shoot Ino and Shikamaru like… five times… but that's about it." I muttered.

All Shino did was adjust his glasses as he said:

"I told you I'd be an asset to this team."

As he said this, Team Ten emerged from the trees, looking completely and utterly defeated, and Asuma's voice sounded loud and clear:

"Guys! What the hell? I thought you guys had it in you, but hell no! What the hell was that? Huh? Now you guys and I have to do D rank missions tenfold for the next week!"

His ranting faded off into the distance as I looked at my sensei's proud face.

_"Even though that was the easiest training I've ever endured… I suppose we did well."_

Kurenai looked up at the sky, which was clear and watched the sun start to touch the tree tops. "I guess you all can go home."

I started on the road, but heard a voice behind me.

"Forgetting something?"

I turned and saw Kiba glaring at me again, and it hit me.

_"Oh."_ Akamaru barked up at me and wagged his tail and I put him down, though he didn't go back to Kiba.

"Come here, Akamaru." Kiba called, but the dog barked at him and jumped into my arms again.

"Seems as if Akamaru prefers Suki to you, Kiba,"

I heard Shino say, and I couldn't help but notice Kurenai's shoulders bobbing up and down.

Kiba muttered, "Bullshit."

He took a step toward her, but I turned around, ready to run. "Looks like I'm going home."

With that, I began running down the path back toward Konoha, Kiba's voice telling me to stop, and Akamaru's wild barks of excitement scouring the air.

* * *

Dude… this chapter took me three weeks, and it's horrible (humor-wise). D: I'm SO sorry to all who had to wait for this piece of shit chapter D: But… I've been working on all of my other stories while I was waiting for writer's block to get outta my head. :D Check 'em out. I came up with lots of things that are gonna happen while Team Eight has this vacation week, so get ready :D They're absolutely hilarious by the way, so the wait is over! :D Rate/Review!

9/8/12: Yeah, I'm still redoing it. xD :) Rate/Review! I enjoy reading what you all have to say.


	5. Kiba's Problem

_Flashback:_

_She began running down the path back toward Konoha, Kiba's voice telling her to stop, and Akamaru's wild barks of excitement scouring the air._

Chapter 5: Kiba's Problem

**Suki's POV**

Early the next morning, she woke up, feeling the sun on her face. _"Today, maybe I should ACTUALLY train!"_ Suki jumped up, feeling unnaturally energized, and showered. After that, she grabbed a normal-looking, long blouse that went down to her middle thighs. She also slapped on some fishnets on her legs, straightened her hair, and brushed her teeth.

"Hmm." Suki muttered, happy with her appearance, as she sauntered out of her apartment. Walking through the lit streets, she surveyed the people walking by her. _"Hmm… today seems like such a nice day. A great day for training…"_

As soon as she was about to walk out of the village, an urgent voice sounded behind her, "Suki! Come over here!" Suki turned to see her sensei running toward her, "What is it, Kurenai-sensei?" Kurenai stopped in front of her, "It's important! Shino and I can't seem to get Kiba out of his house!"

Suki rolled her eyes and muttered to herself, "Why is he so annoying…?" But Kurenai was shaking her head, "I'm afraid you're the only one who can help us with this! It's not that he's being annoying… he's upset! No one knows what's wrong, but he barricaded himself into his closet and he's swearing that he won't come out!"

"Oh my…" Suki face-palmed, but headed toward Kiba's house with Kurenai. Shino was standing outside and he was looking kind of bored, and he jerked his head at the roof, "He climbed up there now. Akamaru keeps barking, but I don't know why…"

Suki turned her head to see the headstrong idiot almost type roping across the roof. "I'm… a… butter… fly…" His voice was cracking, and Shino asked, "Kiba… is there something you would like to talk about…?" But he kept going on with his song, "A pretty… pretty… butter… fly…"

"Did someone spike his orange juice with sake or something?" Shino asked just as a woman walked out of the house, accompanied by a dog. "No," she answered. "Actually… I don't know what's wrong with him. I don't think I've ever seen him this upset. Akamaru doesn't even want to be with him at the moment because he's afraid Kiba will end up doing something reckless."

The small, white puppy ran out of the house and jumped into Suki's arms, whimpering. "Poor thing," she cooed. "Why did you have to get stuck with such an idiot of a master?" Kurenai was talking to the woman, "Tsume, do you think… he's ok? Should we take him to the hospital?" Before she could answer, Kiba jumped off of the roof, hitting a tree, thus knocking himself out, and hit the ground with a 'thump'.

"You should now," sighed the woman as she walked back to the house. "I have a mission later, otherwise I would go with you…" Kurenai just nodded, "We'll get him to the hospital straightaway!" Shino had already slung Kiba over his shoulder, and they left for the hospital.

Akamaru, who was still in Suki's arms as they ran, was still whimpering. "It's ok; I'm sure Kiba will be fine." She heard herself murmur. They reached the hospital, and Kiba was taken into the hands of some nurse as she called for others to join her in the back.

Kurenai sat in between her and Shino, whereas Akamaru settled down on Suki's lap. _"This is probably going to take a while."_

**Three Hours Later**

Suki was almost dozing off, but the door to the back rooms opened up and Kiba was standing there, with another nurse. As soon as he laid eyes on the two of them, his eyebrow went up as if he was confused.

Kurenai approached him, "Are you ok, Kiba?" But he backed away, "How do you know my name…?" "Um… miss…" The nurse was addressing her sensei. "He has a minor case of… amnesia…" Suki couldn't help but face-palm, "You're kidding me, right?"

The nurse shook her head, "No… it's curable, so all that you should need is for him to rest, and regain enough memories that everything comes back to him." Kurenai sighed, "Sorry guys, but it looks like we're gonna have to do all of the introductions again…"

Shino sighed, and Suki let out a groan; today was supposed to be _training, _not babysitting a brainwashed idiot! They walked out of the hospital, until Kiba poked her in the shoulder. "Hey," he smiled politely. "That's a pretty cute dog you have there."

Suki felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance, "He's _your_ dog! His name is Akamaru, and you two have been together for as long as you can remember!" But Kiba shook his head, "Nah. You've got the wrong guy."

"_Great. This is JUST. GREAT."_ They made their way to the training field, quietly, and Kurenai leaned against a rock, "Right. Well, Kiba. You're a ninja, and you're in a group called Squad Eight, or Team Kurenai. My name is Kurenai Yuuhi, and I am-" "Do you have any syrup?" He asked.

Kurenai's eyebrows rose, "Why would you need…?" But he was waving his hands around, "When I'm bored, I always cover my face in syrup. It's very soothing, the way the liquids run against your skin…" _"Man, and I thought the NORMAL, not DELUSIONAL, Kiba was a freak…"_

Shino adjusted his glasses, "I'm Shino Aburame. We've been friends for almost five years…" Kiba's eyebrow rose, "So… are you ugly? Is that why you cover your face up and wear a jacket 24/7?" Suki flinched; low blow. Shino walked away, "Call me when he's back to normal. I don't want to strangle him."

Suki sighed, "My name is Suki Nakamura. We just met, like, a few days ago, so I don't expect you to remember anything about me…" But he walked closer to her and stood in front of her, "Hmm… Suki… it rings a bell, but I'm not picking up anything."

He was standing less than an inch from her body, making her back away. _"Psh."_ Kurenai was walking away, making Suki cry out, "Kurenai-sensei! What… what are you…? Why are you leaving me with him?!"

She turned back, "Consider this a mission. I have important business to attend to, so why don't you go and check out things that Kiba likes to do so we can have him back?" Suki growled. _"Why do I always get stuck with him?! I don't even LIKE him! Annoying, stupid… ugh, why can't SHINO help me?!"_

Kiba was staring at her expectantly, and Suki asked, "What?" If he had a tail, it'd be wagging like crazy. "Well?! What do you want to do?!" He asked. Suki's eyebrows knitted together, "I dunno, what do _you_ wanna do?"

"Well…" he started. "Um, there is _one_ thing that I want to do." He grabbed her hand and ran down the street, making Suki bump into random people all over the place. Kiba stopped in front of the Hokage's office and started to climb up the side of it. "W-what… what are you…?"

Suki tried to ask, but he looked back down at her with the most innocent eyes she had ever seen, "It's the tallest building I've _ever_ seen! Climb it with me!" _"The eyes! I cannot oppose them…"_ Akamaru jumped out of her arms and began barking at Kiba.

His eyes became conflicted and he jumped off of the building, holding his head, "What the… how can I understand what the dog is saying…?" "Because you're an _idiot_, that's why," Suki muttered. Kiba grabbed her hand, "I know! We should go do something that _you_ wanna do!" He dragged her halfway across the street when she pulled away, "I think I'm capable of walking myself."

But his lower lip quivered, "What do you wanna do?" Suki thought about it for a moment, until someone bumped into her from behind. She turned to see Naruto Uzumaki on the ground, with Hinata and Sasuke behind him, both looking embarrassed. "Dobe." Sasuke muttered.

"Sorry!" Naruto jumped up and saw that Kiba was behind her. "Watch… where you're going… Naruto…" Hinata said, quietly. But the orange-clad kid smirked, "Hey, Kiba! Have you been training so I can beat you into next week?" But he just creased his eyebrows in confusion. "Training…?"

Suki nudged Kiba in the shoulder to stop him from replying and glared at Naruto, "I'm trying to get his memory to come back. He has a minor case of amnesia." Naruto began to laugh hysterically as he started, "So… he… doesn't remember… anything?!" Suki nodded, causing him to laugh more.

"Let's go. Good luck with that." Sasuke glared at her, and grabbed Naruto by his hair, dragging him down the street. Hinata looked embarrassed, but she followed behind the two at a slow pace.

Kiba looked genuinely confused as he asked, "Who were they?" Suki glared at him, "The orange one was Naruto. You two used to hang out back in the Academy, and cause trouble for everyone. The girl was Hinata, and the boy was Sasuke Uchiha."

"Sasuke…" Kiba thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged, "The name rings a bell, but…" He stopped, now looking kind of frustrated, "Well, ok. Since my memory is apparently lost, what do I normally do?"

Suki rolled her eyes, "You're normally annoying the piss out of Shino and I. But Shino rage-quit because he didn't want to end up kicking the shit out of you, and Kurenai-sensei left on some 'important' trip… so that leaves you stuck with me."

Kiba smiled, "That's fine by me! And… that dog… it's cute! I refuse to believe that it's mine, though…" He motioned to Akamaru, and Suki handed the dog to him. "He usually sits on your head or climbs in your jacket." Akamaru climbed into his master's jacket and barked.

"You really think so?" Kiba asked the small dog. Akamaru barked again, and Suki wondered what the hell they were talking about. "Suki," Kiba was looking at her expectantly. "I want to talk to Kurenai-sensei. Maybe she remembers something."

Sighing, Suki replied, "I wish I knew where she went." Kiba smiled almost politely, "I think I know where she went!" With that he was walking down the street with Akamaru, who had jumped out of his jacket as well. Suki followed him at a fast pace, and he stopped suddenly in front of a house.

It was silent, until she asked, "…Why'd you stop there?" He turned to her with an innocent smile, "The flowers right there smell nice." And continued on. _"What an idiot. Why is it always me who gets stuck with him?"_

He led her out of the village to an almost remote spot, and Suki spotted her sensei with Asuma, like normal. Only… it didn't look like they were talking. She got closer for a moment, but they started… kissing. _"Ew…"_ It was kind of disturbing watching her sensei make out with another sensei, and Suki felt that she'd never see either of them the same way again.

"Kurenai-sensei with Asuma-sensei… what a match-up." Suki turned to see Kiba smirking, and felt her eyes widen at the absence of his innocence. "…" To be honest, Suki was only moments from strangling him. "You were… playing us… the whole time?!" Her angry voice escaped her lips in a whisper, and Kiba turned to her, smiling sheepishly, "What are you talking about?"

His innocence had suddenly come back, and Suki wasn't sure which to believe. About to leave him be, Suki turned away only to be suddenly shoved to the ground. The only sound that could be heard was Kiba's footsteps, fast and furious, pounding against the ground in an attempt to get the hell out of there.

Not giving a damn if Asuma or Kurenai's moment was spoiled, she chased him;

"KIBA! DAMN IT! YOU'RE SO _DEAD._ I WASTED MY TRAINING TO SPEND THE FUCKING DAY WITH _YOU?!"_

She ran even faster, not being able to wait to stab him or punch him in the neck, but someone stopped her: "Suki, that's not the best way to treat your comrades." Shino was adjusting his glasses in front of her, and Kiba was hiding behind him.

"But… but Shino…" Suki heard her angry yet exhausted voice escape her lips. "He… he… played us all! He called you ugly consciously, not because he didn't know any better!" That seemed to get to him, and his glasses flashed as he glared at the jacket-wearing idiot.

"Judging someone by appearance is shallow and lowly." Shino started, walking toward him. Kiba tried backing away, "I'm sorry! I was just trying to lighten the mood around here, I mean… um…!" Shino had grabbed him by his jacket and pulled him over to a bush, "Alright, let's get this settled here and now…"

When they were behind whatever bush, Kurenai and Asuma came over to her. "Hello, Suki… Kiba fooled us all?" She nodded, full of rage. _"Who the hell does he think he is?! Trying to trick me and shit! I've been doing nothing but wasting days of training when it comes to him!"_

Asuma shrugged, "Maybe that means he likes you. Boys tend to do things like that at a young age, and Kiba… well… he's not the most mature for his age…" A snapping noise could be heard as well as a yell from the bush that Kiba and Shino had disappeared into, and Suki snorted, "Please. As if I would like _him._ He's so annoying."

Kurenai and Asuma looked between each other for some secret reason that Suki could care less about understanding, and another snap could be heard, this time followed by a whimper and Kiba's whine, "Shino…"

"What do you think Shino is doing to Kiba…?" Kurenai's red eyes were wide open in what seemed like shock, and Asuma shrugged, taking his cigarette out of his mouth, "Seems as though he's… teaching him a lesson."

Suki felt her eyes widen as well. _"How humiliating. He deserves it anyway; he should know better than to be a fucking idiot."_ Suddenly curious nonetheless, she walked up to the bushes to see Kiba rubbing his ass unhappily, "You don't have to tell me twice, Shino! Damn."

Shino looked up, acknowledging her presence, and Suki smiled back at him. Kurenai approached Kiba, said, "Why were you being an idiot this morning in the first place? Jumping off of the roof and seeming like a stoner?"

Kiba looked away, "Because… I was upset this morning." "Why?" Kurenai prompted, and Suki couldn't help but notice that he snuck a look at her before continuing, "…Because. I was having a self-pity angst last night." "Over what?" Asuma has approached the gang.

"Why I'm… still… single." Shino let out a small giggle, followed by Suki, but soon, the two couldn't stop. Kurenai even snorted, and Asuma almost swallowed his cigarette. "Why would you be worrying about something like that at your age?" Asuma asked, recovering first from the laughing bout.

Kiba glared up at him, though Suki almost couldn't see through all of her tears. "I just… I was just wondering why someone like me has to be compared all the time with someone like Sasuke. I mean, I don't understand why girls want to be with him. I looked it up and I realized that some girls like the emo assholes, some like the really tough assholes, and some like the innocent pussies. So I thought I'd try out that last one."

"Well, it doesn't matter _WHAT_ you do, because you're STILL an asshole," Suki sighed, and Shino shrugged, "Girls like the guys that they can't keep their eyes off of. Start with your body because some people are that shallow… but I'm waiting until the time is right and someone loves the way that I look for me, not for them."

Suki smiled, "Aww, Shino… I didn't think you were so deep!" Kiba growled, "…Suki, guys tend to like the girls who are pretty, well-mannered, and are cool to be around." Kurenai's eyes widened, "He didn't just say that…" Asuma backed away, "I'm out of here…"

Shino face-palmed as Suki exclaimed, "I'll take you on right freaking now! I'll show you that I'm well fucking mannered!" Kiba snorted, "Not even close." Suki attacked him and began screaming, "No wonder you're still fucking single! You're such an asshole!"

"At least people like me."

"Ugh!"

Suki stormed away, angry. She could hear Kiba calling her name and she disregarded it. _"Who the hell does he think he is?"_ Before she could leave, though, he stood in front of her, "Suki, I'm sorry." He looked almost innocent, but she shrugged. _"I'm not falling for that one again…"_

"Shino," Suki turned to the spectacle-wearing ninja. "Do you want to go out to eat somewhere?" Shino looked relatively confused as he sighed, "No. I have to go home." With that, he left, speedily. Suki's mouth was agape and Kiba was laughing, "Rejected! Burned! You need some water for that one?!"

Leaving him with a bruised cheek, Suki ran after Shino. "Please?!" "No!" "Why not?!" "Because… um… my bugs need me!"

Meh… maybe it wasn't as good as I initially thought :( But look on the bright side; I'm getting my chapters out a lot faster! Maybe it's because I have no life… Rate/Review!


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